1994: Vegetable farmers strike back

Chapter 272 Passing Through Smoothly
After stall number 56 sold out of vegetables, traffic in the passageway gradually became orderly.

"Mr. Chen, your business is getting bigger and bigger. Three trucks and a van came here. That's impressive."

"Business is booming, Mr. Hu." Chen Jiazhi took out a cigarette and offered it to Mr. Hu, who was walking over from the stall across the street. He added, "There are a lot of vegetables at the base these days, which has affected traffic. Please forgive us."

You can't hit someone who's smiling, and besides, Boss Hu didn't think there was anything wrong with it.

"Hey, you're not competing with me, and you've brought in a lot of people. I'd rather all the people who come here just stay here!"
However, the two businesses next to you probably have a lot to say; be careful they don't file complaints against you.

"Thanks for reminding me," Chen Jiazhi said with a smile. "By the way, are green peppers selling well lately?"

Of the vegetables delivered to stall number 57 today, half were green peppers and half were eggplants.

"It's alright, I can sell a ton or two of green peppers a day." Mr. Hu sighed, "I can't compare to you, I just rely on volume to make a little profit."

Judging from the situation in both markets, Huacheng also has a considerable demand for green peppers.

Chen Jiazhi didn't know how long stall number 57 operated in a day, but selling three or four tons of goods was quite a lot.

Buying goods from the primary market only yields hard-earned money, but bringing vegetables back from rural areas can generate higher profits.

These days, running a freight business is not easy. The freight cost of a long-distance freight trip can be equivalent to the salary of a factory worker who screws in screws for half a year or even a year.

However, even ordinary people can't escape it.

Buying a car is one hurdle, then you need to memorize the routes and read maps, and there are also issues with road thieves and highway robbers.

Like Chen Jiazhi, Wang Bin also bought a Yuejin light truck, but his family ended up with debt because of it.

He has only recently learned to drive and is unfamiliar with the road conditions in various places, so he doesn't dare to drive long distances for the time being.

Chen Jiazhi paid him the freight for tonight. It was 2.5 tons of goods, more than 40 kilometers away, and he gave him almost 300 yuan, which is a month's wages for an ordinary vegetable worker.

But the price isn't high.

What Chen Jiazhi could guarantee was that there would be one trip every day for a period of time.

With experience, Wang Bin can also arrive at the market later to load the goods and unload them at the stall.

A single trip takes only three or four hours.

Wang Bin said, "Brother Chen, I can only run for you for a while. Once I'm more familiar with it, I'd like to run further."

Chen Jiazhi also understands that this is the golden age of highway transportation.

Some drivers who buy or modify full-trailer or semi-trailer trucks can easily earn hundreds of thousands of yuan a year.

The only advantage of transporting vegetables from the suburbs is that it's close to home, less strenuous, and safer.

"Okay, just let me know in advance. There will be opportunities to cooperate in the future."

"Okay, I'll leave first."

Xue Jun also took the people from Dongxiang Vegetable Market back, leaving only the Isuzu truck at the stall. Chen Zhengxu and Li Cai drove the van to deliver vegetables to several partner restaurants.

"Let's go back too."

After a night of hustle and bustle, it all came to a successful conclusion once again.

Four vehicles, two markets, and ten people sold all 19800 jin (approximately 6,900 kg) of vegetables, earning 20,000 yuan.

When we started work in the morning, the team leaders who went to sell vegetables spread the word about what happened last night.

The negotiations with the Hong Kong buyers broke down in the morning, and by the afternoon, the vegetable pickers were already having all sorts of discussions.

Now, the sales problem is solved in the evening, and the snow pea pods can continue to be harvested in the afternoon.

The vegetable workers also breathed a sigh of relief.

The Jiangxin vegetable market offers very good benefits, and if it is not managed well, it will be difficult to find the same job again.

However, after learning the details, Yi Dinggan felt a ripple in his heart.

Ten thousand catties of snow peas were sold for 15,000 yuan, which is 5,000 yuan less than the previous supply to Hong Kong, but the cost and effort involved have increased significantly.

In the afternoon, Chen Jiazhi, who had slept all morning, arrived at the office, and Yi Dinggan followed him back from the vegetable field.

"Jiazhi, we need to control the workers' wages."

While boiling water, Chen Jiazhi said, "It's easy for prices to rise, but difficult for them to fall. The market is operating fine for now, so we don't need to touch the wages."

Yi Dinggan said, "We can't supply Hong Kong. If we sell our produce in the market ourselves, it will increase sales costs. Vegetable prices are low, and agricultural input prices are still rising. If vegetable prices are not ideal in the future, and we have to pay workers high wages, the risk is very high."

As I told you, when your second sister and I first came to Huacheng to grow vegetables, our monthly salary was only 80 or 90 yuan. Now your basic salary is 360 yuan, and with commissions and bonuses, it's 500 yuan per person per month.

Compared to other farmers' markets, our labor costs are too high!

Chen Jiazhi chuckled. "Oh, you're quite the calculating one. You're eyeing the position of farm manager?"

Yi Dinggan said, "Now is not the time to joke. We've invested so much money, and if we fail, all our past efforts will be wasted!"

"let me think again."

"What else is there to think about?"

Chen Jiazhi pondered and said, "Actually, we also have many advantages and coping methods, and we should continue to carry forward and develop these advantages."

Firstly, in terms of planting, our vegetables generally have higher yields and better quality, which is one of the benefits brought about by higher labor costs.

Secondly, it's about capturing market trends. When there's a shortage of vegetables, produce in large quantities; when there's an abundance of vegetables, target varieties with high prices. Higher wages mean vegetable workers are more willing to work in harsh weather conditions.

Finally, there's the application of greenhouse cultivation, which many vegetable markets are reluctant to invest in.

We can enjoy the benefits of small greenhouses for at least another two years.

Therefore, instead of considering drastic salary adjustments, it's better to continue strengthening our advantages. The current base salary is manageable for the market, and I don't want to change the commission rate for the time being.

Yi Dinggan pressed further, "What about the bonus?"

Chen Jiazhi pondered for a moment and said, "I think we can widen the gap and we should also eliminate the vegetable workers who have been performing poorly for a long time. Nowadays, the streets of Huacheng and Shenzhen are full of people who have come from the south to find work."

"We need to make full use of our high wages to train a group of elite soldiers. I'll entrust this task to you, with Tong Gang assisting you. What do you think?" Yi Dinggan thought for a moment and agreed that this was a good idea. After drinking two cups of tea, he went downstairs again.

Chen Jiazhi understood his concerns.

In the 1980s and 90s, the vegetable markets in the Pearl River Delta that supplied Hong Kong developed very rapidly. What was the key to this success?
Firstly, labor costs are low, and secondly, vegetable prices are good. Even though middlemen skim profits, the overall profit margin is still quite good.

Chen Jiazhi raised the wages too high.

The fact that Yi Dinggan considered and raised this question proves that he was thinking about how to run a vegetable market.

This made Chen Jiazhi quite gratified.

However, the wage structure cannot be changed, and the labor cost cannot be reduced. This is the only way for the vegetable market to maintain high efficiency and high quality.

Modern cooks really like this.

But things won't be the same in future generations. By 2025, vegetable harvesters will earn at least 1 yuan a month, and they won't even be able to work efficiently.

In contrast, vegetable prices are also sluggish, so more than 95% of vegetable markets are operating at a loss.

When the boss first started out, he drove a Mercedes-Benz and a Rolls-Royce, but a year later he could only ride an electric scooter.

However, large enterprises and capital are still investing in vegetable bases.

The production base itself may not be profitable, but other stages can generate revenue, thus forming a complete industrial chain system.

Chen Jiazhi is also working in this direction. Although each link is still extremely weak, it is now the 1990s and the competition in each link is not strong.

Running a vegetable market is also one of his specialties. He needs to pay high wages to attract a group of hardworking and high-quality vegetable workers, and at crucial moments, he can take a gamble on the market.

Actually, the labor cost wasn't much higher.

The basic wage at Jiangxin Vegetable Market is 12 yuan per day, which is 10% to 20% higher than the average wage for vegetable workers in Huacheng.

However, in terms of annual yield per mu and average income per mu, Jiangxin Vegetable Market is far more than 20% higher than the average level.

Maintaining the current wage rates is not a problem, and it is necessary.

But Yi Dinggan also reminded him that he could use this 'crisis' to weed out those who were just filling in the ranks.

In addition, the downstream processes need to be started as early as possible.

Around 4 p.m., Chen Zhengxu and Li Cai both came to the office.

Chen Jiazhi and the two discussed the preparatory tasks for the procurement, sales and distribution processes.

"Once the stalls in the Jiangnan Market are rented, we also need to get the sorting and delivery sorting done to quickly expand our customer base."

"Another key point is that once we have the guns, we need to start looking for reliable sources in the surrounding areas or even further afield, and ideally, we should establish long-term partnerships with farmers..."

Chen Zhengxu and Li Cai took notes.

Li Cai asked, "Brother Chen, are the new stall and office set up by you personally, or do they belong to Jiangxin Vegetable Market?"

Chen Jiazhi scratched his head and said, "You guys go and find out what's going on first, I'll think about it some more."

He actually wanted to set up a new company to operate independently, but there were two other shareholders.

"By the way, Zhengxu, has the delivery of the spruce trees started yet?"

"Not yet, but I have contacted them. The main problem is that sorting is inconvenient right now," Chen Zhengxu said. "Once the new stall is rented, I will contact Yunshan, and we can also bring over some other potential customers."

Chen Jiazhi nodded and said, "If we need manpower later, we can prioritize picking from the Dongxiang vegetable market. When we move to another market, some of the shrewd and clever villagers will follow you two."

"That would be great."

"We also need to recruit some people with a basic education from outside."

Currently, apart from the base having no shortage of personnel, every other aspect is short-staffed, and Chen Zhengxu and Li Cai don't really understand it either.

Therefore, Chen Jiazhi will personally oversee the establishment of the procurement, sorting and distribution processes.

As for the base, he has clearly written down all the key management aspects. With Yi Dinggan overseeing it, there shouldn't be any problems.

Several days passed, and the sales work went very smoothly.

Jiangxin vegetable market earns about 1.5 yuan a day, and Dongxiang vegetable market earns about 5 yuan a day. Although the income is not high, the pain of the broken supply channels to Hong Kong is gradually dissipating.

The vegetable vendors regained their confidence, and after Yi Dinggan announced that he would fire people, the market's efficiency improved again.

After all, there are just too many people coming to Huacheng right now.

There aren't actually that many job openings.

Most people don't want to leave Jiangxin Market, so they can only work harder and more diligently.

Before he knew it, it was the end of March. Chen Jiazhi was in his office checking the work log of Dongxiang Vegetable Market, which Xue Jun had brought to him the night before.

Since the end of the cold wave, Ao Dehai has emphasized one word: stability.

Mustard greens and Chinese kale ran out of produce in the middle of the month, but Chinese cabbage started producing produce from the beginning of March, yielding 2600 to 2800 catties every day without interruption.

He looked at Ao Dehai's cropping plan, which was simple and clear, focusing on Chinese cabbage.

Barring unforeseen circumstances, there will always be a supply of bok choy, and other vegetables will be available from time to time.

This is basically in line with the initial positioning.

However, Chen Jiazhi plans to establish external procurement channels to meet the needs during normal times through external supply.

Before the land acquisition, Dongxiang Vegetable Market might have another chance, and he has been investigating the market in the past few days.

Suddenly, a car horn blared loudly from downstairs.

As Chen Jiazhi stepped outside, he saw Ye Canjiang standing by the roadside, staring blankly at the green peppers and beans in the market.

(End of this chapter)